DHYS Post-Season Information

2005 DHYS Summer Tournament Teams recap...

2006 DHYS Summer Tournament Teams Update...

14U Bulls The 14U DHYS Bulls claimed the championship title of the Early Bird Classic in Austell, Georgia, but it took winning four straight games - three of them back-to-back-to-back in 90-plus-degree temperatures in the middle of the afternoon. The Bulls played their opening night game against the Paulding Longhorns, an experienced travel team. With only one practice under their belt and with four new players added to a roster of veterans who won the state 13U Pony title championship last year, the Bulls fell one run short in the last inning, losing 4-3.

Returning the next night, the Bulls blew past the Hopewell Inferno in five innings, then returned again the following day to stampede the Powder Springs Stallions and Southwest Braves before facing a much-anticipated rematch against the number-one-seeded Paulding travel team. The two teams dueled fiercely under the blazing Memorial Day sun, swapping one run an inning for four innings, until the Bulls delivered the coup de grace, winning 4-3. In the Bulls first four games, they relied heavily on a strong team effort from all players to start the season on a championship note

PONY DISTRICTS: The DHYS Pony Bulls blasted through the winner's bracket to go undefeated and clinch the district title on July 2nd in Hiram, Georgia. Against stiff competition in the state tournament, the Bulls finished as runner-ups, earning them a shot at the regional playoffs to be held in Newnan, Ga., from July 17-22.

REGIONALS: The DHYS Pony Bulls closed out the 2006 postseason as runner-ups in the regional tournament (held in Newnan, Ga.) of the South Zone. After defeating the Georgia state champs from Douglasville to advance to the final rounds, the Bulls ended the season with their second loss to the #1 team from Florida (Wellswood). After injuries to several key players in the final weeks, the Bulls relied on strong teamwork to finish the season as the highest-achieving Pony team in Georgia.

EAST REGION RECAP: The DHYS Bulls (14U) polished off a great season by representing the East Region at the South Zone tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. In this
final round before the Pony World Series, the Bulls finished tied for 3rd place out of 6 teams, upsetting pre-tournament favorite Aledo from Dallas and losing to the two teams that played for the zone championship.

12U Red Wings The Red Wings began their tournament season over Memorial Day Weekend in the Smoltz-Grissom Wood Bat Classic. The Red Wings went 3-2 for the weekend with wins over Berkeley Baseball, the Pensacola Storm, and the McDonough Bandits. The Red Wings lost to the Powder Springs Seminoles 1-0 in pool play. The Red Wings ran into the Powder Springs Seminoles again in the Championship Bracket. The Seminoles won another close game over the Red Wings 3-1 en route to winning the Smoltz-Grissom tournament.

Red Wings Win USSSA Hot Times Classic The Red Wings swept the USSSA Hot Times Classic in Villa Rica June 3-4 to claim the impressive five-foot trophy. Playing two games Saturday and three games Sunday, the Red Wings triumphed over the Douglasville 11s, the Georgia Buzz, the Shaw Park Cougars, and the Sandtown Mustangs. The Red Wings defeated the Georgia Buzz a second time in the Championship Game.

2006 USSSA Hot Times Classic Champions 12U DHYS Red Wings
Pictured (L-R):kneeling: Ross Whatley, Brady Ksionzyk, Brett Polston, Linden Weng, Jimmy Dilz. Standing: Morgan ("Chicken Wing") Bunting, Foster Thomason, James Ridgway, Alex Fowler, Jamison Porter, Dylan Willis, Chris Wilson. Coaches: Todd Wilson, Tom Ksionzyk (Manager), Kevin Polston, Mark Whatley

Red Wings Are Champions in Cherokee, NC The 2nd Annual Blue Ridge Battle of the Bats hosted by the Tennessee BPA was held June 9-11 in Cherokee, NC. The tournament featured nine teams from Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Ohio. The Red Wings went 3-0 in pool play, defeating the Franklin Cats, Kingsport Select 11s, and the Rockdale Rhinos. In the Gold Championship bracket on Sunday, the Red Wings knocked out the Oregon Park Bats and Kingsport Select 12s to bring the Battle of the Bats trophy to the metro Atlanta area.

Red Wings Place 4th in Georgia BPA State Tournament
June 18, 2006 -- The Georgia BPA State Tournament was held June 14-18 at Harrison Park in Sandy Plains. In a field of 16 strong teams, the Red Wings finished in 4th Place.
The Red Wings defeated the Duluth Wildcats in pool play before dropping games to Team Wilson and the East Cobb Tigers. In elimination play, the Red Wings defeated
the Sandy Plains Prowlers and Sandy Plains Wildcats to reach the semi-finals, where they lost a rematch with the Duluth Wildcats 6-4.

Standing [L to R]: Morgan Bunting, Jamison Porter, Dylan Willis, Coach Mark Whatley, James Ridgway, Coach Todd Wilson, Foster Thomason, Alex Fowler, Chris Wilson.
Kneeling [L to R]: Coach Kevin Polston, Jimmy Dilz, Linden Weng, Brett Polston, Brady Ksionzyk, Ross Whatley, Mgr. Tom Ksionzyk

Red Wings Win Bronco District Championship
July 1, 2006 -- The Georgia Bronco District 3 Tournament was held at Powder Springs Park June 27 through July 1. The teams in the District were the host Powder Springs Indians, NYO Stallions, Douglasville All Stars, Shaw Park Panthers, and Red Wings.
It took two tries, but the Red Wings defeated Douglasville to advance to the Georgia Bronco State Tournament as District 3 Champions. Way to go Wings!!!

Red Wings are 2006 Georgia Bronco State Champions
The Red Wings won the 2006 Georgia Bronco State Championship at Powder Springs Park on July 11. Through the state championship game, the team compiled a record of 25-7. The Red
Wings will advance to the Bronco East Region Tournament in Newnan, GA, July 17-21.

The Red Wings team web site is: http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=dhysredwings

11U Lightning Early Bird Classic for 11 y/o team: Tied 12 y/o Lithia Springs 6-6. Beat Douglasville 9-2. Beat 12 y/o Powder Springs 17-3. Because of the tie score in the first game, the Lightning couldn't continue in tournament.

Shaw Park The 11 y/o Lightning team won a second place trophy from Shaw Park tourney. They beat a tough Buckhead Baseball team in the semis before losing to NYO
in the finals. (photo below)

Buckhead Classic The 11y/o all stars won the Buckhead Classic this past week. Beat Oregon Park 17-4, NYO 8-7, Wills Park 10-0, NYO again 7-4 (Ryan Brennan pitched a 4-hit complete game), and then defeated host Buckhead in the championship game 9-5.

Summer Sizzler Tournament, Chattanooga, TN The 11 y/o Lightning traveled up to and won the Chattanooga Summer Sizzler tournament this past weekend. The boys had a great time on and off the field. On the field, the Lightning utilized consistent pitching, solid hitting and gritty fielding to beat the Nolansville (Tenn) Stars 9-1, Acworth A's 5-2, Chatanooga Twisters 13-2, Hopewell All-Stars 11-3, and the host Chattanooga Twisters again for the championship 9-3 to go undefeated in the tournament.

11U Lightning are 2006 PONY State Champions! The Lightning capped off a great season by being crowned 11 YO State Champions last week. On the final day of the tournament, host Douglasville had to beat the Lighning twice to prevail.
Douglasville won the first game 8-7 but, in the nightcap, the Lightning scored 6 in the first and never looked back, winning the championship game 14-5. The Lightning had to decline an invitation to travel to Texas for the PONY regional tournament due to logistical problems, but enjoyed an 18-6-1 overall record and had a fun and exciting summer, winning three of the six tournaments they entered.

10U Thunder The 10U Thunder had a fantastic great Early Bird Classic. The team won the Mustang championship with a 4-0 record against the Douglasville 9U, the Powder Springs Titans, the Powder Springs Indians, and the Douglasville 10U teams. The semifinal against the Indians was the best game. The Thunder were down 5-2 after the 1st inning and 6-3 after the third inning before mounting a comeback and winning 8-7 in 5 innings. The Thunder won the championship 11-1 in 4 innings over the Douglasville 10U team with the game ending after 10:30 p.m. due to earlier extra inning games and the lights going out after the semi-final.

SHAW PARK
The Thunder had a tough Shaw Park tournament. After going 1-1 in pool play with a win against Mt. Paran and a loss to Winston, the Thunder lost their first game in the elimination round to Buckhead.

WEST COBB CLASSIC
In the West Cobb Classic, the Thunder had a tough draw in pool play and lost to Winston 13-11 and NYO 8-1. However, the boys found their stroke in the elimination round, beating the Powder Springs Titans 10-7, the Powder Springs Indians 5-3 and Douglasville 8-1 to advance to the tournament final. The Thunder faced NYO again and fell behind 10-0 after 2 innings. However, the Thunder did not give up! Showing their grit, the Thunder made a charge before losing 12-9 to take the runner-up trophy.

DISTRICTS
The Thunder traveled to Newnan for the Mustang District 3 tournament. The first game against a tough Newnan American team went to extra innings. The home team Thunder scored in the bottom of the 7th to win 4-3. In the second game, the Thunder faced a familiar Douglasville squad. The Thunder jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first inning and held on to win 10-6. In the third game against Newnan National, the Thunder had the bats swinging and won 12-5. These wins advanced the Thunder to the championship round where, weakened by vacation and illness, the team ran into an NYO buzzsaw, losing a doubleheader to finish as District runner-ups.

STATE TOURNAMENT
In the State tournament, the Thunder started out against nemesis Winston and lost 13-3. Moving into the losers bracket, the Thunder put their game faces on, knowing a tough road lay ahead. In the next game against Mt. Paran, the bats blazed and the Thunder won 20-6. The momentum carried into the next game against Newnan National where the Thunder struck for a 20-0 win. These wins set up a potential double header on Monday night, July 10. The first game was against...Winston. The Thunder jumped ahead after 2 innings, 8-4. However, Winston battled back and in the top of the 6th inning scored 5 runs to go ahead 12-11. In the bottom half of the frame after a strikeout to lead off the inning, the Thunder drew a walk then got two consecutive doubles to score two runs to move to the second game of the night! The second game was against the Powder Springs Indians who were looking for revenge from games earlier in the summer. The Indians hadn't played for two days while the Thunder were playing their third game in two days. In a tight battle, the Thunder were down 2-1 after the first, up 3-2 after the second, up 5-4 after the third, up 7-4 after the fourth and tied 7-7 after the fifth. The home Thunder held the Indians without scoring in the top of the sixth, then in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly to center, scored the winning run. Two last-at-bat wins in one night! An exhausted Thunder had to play their fifth game in four days the next night in the championship round against...NYO. The Thunder started off well--the game was tied 7-7 after two and 8-8 after three, but the Thunder ran out of gas, losing 18-8 to take home the State runner-up title.

The Thunder had a great season! Out of five tournaments, the Thunder won one and finished runner up in three, including the District and State tournaments.

9U Bombers The 9U all stars (pictured below) exited the Early Bird Classic on Sunday with a 1-2 record. This scrappy 9U team played two 10U teams from Douglasville and Shaw Park and made a big impression after only losing by 2 to Douglasville and by 1 to Shaw Park (in extra innings). They head to Shaw Park to play in a true 9U division.

Shaw Park. The Bombers took to the diamond for the Shaw Park Larry Hutson Invitational last weekend and put forth a strong effort. We finished 1-3 but played some more good baseball. If we can shore up the defense a bit and get a couple breaks to run our way, we will be on the other side of the score shortly.

After an unsuccessful run in the West Cobb Classic, the Bombers traveled to LaGrange, GA for the Meltdown Tournament. They faced some tough travel teams from around the state and after besting Dacula in an exciting game, they were knocked out of a trophy spot on Sunday by the Hopewell Hurricanes.

The Bomb Squad then finished third in the State Tournament behind Hunter Park and Powder Springs.

After the PONY Sate Tournament, the Bombers took to the road and played in the "Smokin' in the Smokies" Tournament in Sevierville/Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Knowing that this was their final weekend playing as a team, the Bombers banded together and gave their all before a vocal crowd that had made the grueling 5-hour journey.

After a controversial forfeit was thrust upon them on the opening night of the pool play, the Bombers regrouped and gave two spirited (but unsuccessful) efforts on Saturday against two of the top-ranked teams.

Sunday saw the Bombers take their first game versus the Lakeshore All-Stars via forfeit. Then they faced a formidable opponent in the Diamond Dogs. Relying on impressive performances from the pitchers and strong bats and baserunning...the Bombers prevailed!

Then it was on to the final game versus the Mudville 9's. The Bombers dominated early and turned in a COMPLETE team effort with dazzling defense and outstanding pitching. The marathon game lasted nearly three hours and when the dust settled and the darkness rolled in, the Boys from Medlock were on top 12-8. They left it all on that Tennessee diamond--blood, mud, sweat, tears and cheers.

This DHYS gang finally came together at the right time after a hard luck season to defeat a talented and scrappy Tennessee team. The victory was sweet and capped a fun-filled season with a group of great kids. The only thing that would have made it perfect was having our missing players there as well. (We missed you Michael, Andrew and Alex!). Way to go Bombers! We'll see you all next year!

The 2006 DHYS 9U Bombers: Back Row (L to R) Coach Mark Bumgardner, Coach Jon Mack, Manager Dave Chisholm and Coach Bryon Jordan. Middle Row (L to R) Jack Brozek, Aaron Schunk, Michael Segerman, Luke Bumgardner, Jacob Jordan and John Mellen. Front Row (L to R) Jonathan Cooper, Cameron Pennell, Jimmy Mack and Cole Chisholm. Missing Bombers: Michael Boden, Andrew McCarthy and Alex Mei.

8U Rough Riders (pictured below) claimed the runner up trophies in the Early Bird Classic in Austell over Memorial Day weekend. The Riders earned a bye in the single elimination tournament with two big wins in pool play over Hobgood & Powder Springs.
On Sunday, after defeating Acworth 23-9 to advance to the championship game, the Riders dropped a tough fought 8-7 decision to Hobgood.

The Rough Riders preparations for the PONY District tournament continued with appearances in the Larry Hutson Tournament at Shaw Park and at the West Cobb Classic.

At Shaw Park, the Riders easily handled NYO before dropping a tough one run decision to Powder Springs and an elimination game to Mt. Paran. At the West Cobb Classic, the Riders put up 75 runs in 4 games and batted around twice in open innings over the weekend. The team dropped a 14-12 decision to the number one seeded Douglasville team Monday night. The Rough Riders traveled to Buckhead on Thursday June 22 to face NYO in a friendly doubleheader which served as a tune up for both teams' District tournament appearances. The Riders flashed their gloves with some amazing defense in both games of the twin bill which the teams split.

District Tournament in Newnan. The Rough Riders had a very strong District tournament in Newnan. In game one, the Riders destroyed Douglasville 20 - 5. The host team Newnan had the Riders number in game 2 and defeated the team 15 - 7. The
Rough Riders bats came alive in game 3 as the team thumped Shaw Park 22 - 13 to advance to the championship game against Newnan. In the championship game, the Riders took the host team to the wire with hot bats and stellar defense but dropped a heartbreaker 17 - 16. The Rough Riders proudly accepted their runner up medals and move on to the State tournament in Powder Springs beginning Wednesday July 5th.

The Rough Riders shined in the PONY State Tournament held in Powder Springs. After dropping their opening game, the Riders charged through the loser's bracket in this double elimination tournament with three impressive wins. Shaw Park was the first victim as the Riders drilled the Bulldogs 15-5. The Rough Riders then faced the host team Powder Springs in what will likely go down as the most exciting game of the summer. The team trailed much of the game and was behind 15-14 heading to the bottom of the last inning. The Riders then mounted a 2 out rally and plated 2 runs to take the game 16-15.
Twenty minutes after that win, the Riders took the field again and pounded Fairplay 23-10 to advance to the championship game. The team gave it their all but dropped the State title game to Newnan. The Rough Riders' excellent showing at State qualified the team for the Super State Tournament in Austell beginning July 15.

The PONY portion of the summer all star season concluded for the Rough Riders with an appearance in the Super State Tournament which features the top seven PONY 8U teams in Georgia. The Rough Riders faced a familiar foe in Newnan in the opening game. The Riders offense was explosive but the team dropped a dramatic 23-22 decision. Next up was the host team from Southwest. The Riders offense remained hot and the team continued to show off their excellent defense as they pounded Southwest 18-11. The season came to end when the Riders dropped a tough one to the team from Mt. Paran. Overall, the Rough Riders have played deeper into the all star season and have achieved more than any Pinto team from Medlock in 10 years.

The Rough Riders 2006 season is not over. After a brief break, the team will reconvene and get ready to represent DHYS at Walt Disney World's "Turn Back the Clock" Tournament in Orlando, Florida over Labor Day weekend. The Riders will be the only team from Georgia in any age division and will face tough competition from teams from Florida and Puerto Rico.

The Rough Riders headed south to Disney's Wide World of Sports facility in Orlando, Florida over Labor Day weekend to participate in Disney's Turn Back the Clock Tournament. The eight team field featured the Rough Riders along with two travel teams from Florida and five all star teams from Puerto Rico.

The defensive tone was set in game 1 as the Riders faced the Knights from Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. In a tough fought battle, the Rough Riders prevailed 7-5 with timely hitting and excellent defense.

The opponent in game 2 were Los Cardenales de Rio from Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Again, the Rough Rider defense held their opponent in check throughout the game. The offense exploded for 11 runs in the last two innings and the Rough Riders buried Los Cardenales 20-5.

Game 3 matched the Rough Riders against All Sports Academy (a baseball training academy) from Miami, Florida. Both teams played outstanding defense but the All Sports' batters found a few more holes and defeated the Rough Riders 10-3.

In the final game of the weekend, the Rough Riders faced the Delray Rangers from Delray Beach, Florida. The Rangers and Rough Riders went back and forth in a closely fought battle. The Rough Riders tied the game with a single run in the top of the 6th inning to send the game to extra innings. In the 7th inning the Rough Riders were faced with the bases full of Rangers and no one out. The Riders turned a double play and then recorded a single out to get out of the jam. In the 8th inning, the Riders bats came alive and the team scored 4 runs in the top of the inning & held the Rangers scoreless in the bottom half for the 10-6 win.

Over the weekend, the Rough Riders recorded a 3-1 record, claimed 2nd place in the eight team field and held their opponents scoreless in 14 out of 25 innings of coach pitch baseball. The team also had plenty of R&R time at Disney!

Thanks to the entire Rough Rider support system - parents, siblings and friends - for making the 2006 summer tournament season successful and fun for all of our kids.
See you next year!

8U Scorchers EARLY BIRD CLASSIC (Austell) Defeated Acworth 17-11 in the first game. Lost to Douglasville 17-3 in the second game. Lost to Shaw Park/Marietta 18-9 in the third game. The kids fought hard and had great attitudes throughout the tourney.

The 2006 DHYS 8U Scorchers

SHAW PARK TOURNAMENT
Game 1: The Scorchers came out of the gate strong in the first game, defeating Shaw Park 17-15 on their home field. Strong hitting and timely defensive plays helped the Scorchers get past Shaw Park and earn their 2nd tournament victory overall.
Game 2: The Scorchers played hard but fell short to the Eastside
Lightning by a score of 20-10.
Game 3: In their final game on Sunday, the Scorches played one of their best games of the summer, battling the NYO Colts down to the wire before falling 17-14.

HOT SUMMER TIME BASEBALL CLASSIC (SNELLVILLE)
The Scorchers played some very tough competition in this tournament, which featured many travel teams coming from all over the state.
Game 1: The Scorchers played well the first four innings against Walton County, battling to a 7-7 tie before Walton's bats got hot. The Scorchers fell by a final score of 15-7.
Game 2: The Scorchers fell to a tough team from Rome by a score of 21-11.
We hit the ball hard, but we couldn't get many to fall.
Game 3: This was probably the Scorchers best game of the summer. Battling back in the top of the 6th from a 12-9 deficit against Gordon County, the Scorchers took a 16-12 lead into the bottom of the final frame. The air was filled with drama as the Scorchers recorded
two outs against the hard hitting Gordon County team. With the bases loaded and the score knotted at 16, Gordon County hit one into the gap to drive in the winning run. Both teams played their hearts out and it was a shame someone had to lose. The Scorchers played very well in the field and hit the ball well. They have proven their mettle as a scrappy team that won't ever give up no matter what the score.

PONT DISTRICTS AT POWDER SPRINGS
Game 1: The Scorchers faced a very tough Newnan team and fell 20-7.
Game 2: Playing the host Powder Springs team, the Scorchers fought hard and played an excellent game. Down 17-6 in the fourth inning, the Scorchers mounted a rally and nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback. With excellent defense and lively bats, the Scorchers cut the lead to 19-13 entering the 6th and final inning. In the top of the 6th, the Scorchers silenced Powder Springs, 3 up/3down. The dramatic rally continued as the Scorchers cut the lead to 19-16 before the Powder Springs shortstop made an excellent catch on a hard
hit line drive to seal their narrow victory.
Overall, the Scorcher's tournament season was an excellent one. They snagged some victories, never gave up on themselves and represented DHYS well. The players on this team all have bright futures in baseball.

7U Cyclones (pictured below) For the first time, DHYS sent a 7U team into tournament play with a view towards developing its young talent for future competitive play.
The Cyclones undertook an ambitious schedule facing some of the most highly rated teams in the Metro area and State in 4 tournaments including the West Cobb Classic. The players gave great effort and improved with each outing. They had a number of close contests with more experienced teams. The team showed good sportsmanship throughout and met with success.

L-R Back Row- Larry White, Cyndy Whitney, Hutch Moore, Bob Semler, Missing: Mark Schlutz, Daren Sorenson. Middle Row- Payton Christensen, Harry White, Gaines Moore, Daniel Fridkin, Kennet Sorenson, Will Johnson. Front Row- Chandler Scoggins, Scott Semler, Davis Schultz, Conner Dowd, Henry Hall. Missing: Tyler Mason, Ben Cohen and Orie Stockton.

The Cyclones had wins at the Kennesaw Klassic and in the West Cobb Classic played some of their best ball. With some dazzling defense and plenty of lumber, they handily defeated the GaXtreme. Leading 15-9 going into the final at bat, the Cyclones scored 11 runs without an out made to eliminate their opponent from the competition. They then faced the Douglasville All Stars, who had previously defeated them, in a rematch. The Cyclones came out swinging and took an early lead. The teams battled back and forth with the lead changing hands each inning. The Cyclones took a slim 10-9 lead into the 4th inning. Douglasville took the lead scoring 5 to the Cyclones 2 for a 14-12 lead. Douglasville scored 5 more in the next at bat. In the 6th, the Cyclones started to rally and put men on 1st & 3d . An incredible leaping stab of a hard hit line drive by Douglasville's short stop allowed them to double up the 3d base runner and end the game 19-12. Although going down in defeat, the Cyclones played their hearts out and were a credit to DHYS.
With developing talent like this, DHYS' fine tradition of tournament success is sure to continue.